As advanced materials move from academic promise to commercial reality, partnerships between industry and research institutions are becoming increasingly vital. One recent example is the expanded collaboration between HydroGraph Clean Power Inc. and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) at The University of Manchester.
The move sees HydroGraph elevate its status from Tier 2 to Tier 1 membership, a shift that reflects both the company’s technical progress under CEO KjirstinBreure and the growing market demand for high-performance graphene applications. For observers of emerging technology, the model used by Breure has been effective at translating complex science into scalable, commercial outcomes.
Scaling Collaboration in Graphene Commercialization
HydroGraph and the GEIC first began working together in 2023, at a time when graphene adoption across industry was still largely experimental. Over the past two years, the collaboration has shifted from early validation work to application-driven development, resulting in a growing portfolio of case studies demonstrating how pristine graphene can improve performance across sectors such as medical devices, composites, coatings, and advanced manufacturing.
The Tier 1 upgrade formalizes that progress. It provides HydroGraph with a dedicated laboratory presence within the GEIC and broader access to its testing, prototyping, and application-engineering infrastructure. The practical impact is a shorter path from laboratory validation to industrial trials, an essential step for companies seeking real-world adoption.
From a business perspective, the expanded collaboration supports HydroGraph’s growing commercial pipeline, which now includes dozens of active projects with industrial partners exploring graphene-enhanced products.
The KjirstinBreure Model at HydroGraph
Much of HydroGraph’s steady progression has been shaped by the leadership of KjirstinBreure, whose background blends materials science with experience in scaling emerging technologies. Breure holds a Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from Arizona State University and has spent more than a decade working in advanced technology sectors, including machine learning, data analytics, and blockchain.
Before joining HydroGraph, she held consulting, director, and executive roles at Canadian startups such as Theorem Synthetic Intelligence, Omada Technologies, and Macht10. When she joined HydroGraph in 2020 as its first employee and Chief Operating Officer, the company was still operating at lab scale. Since then, she has overseen the transition from early research to repeatable production, helping define strategy, brand positioning, and research priorities.
Now serving as President, CEO, and Board Chair, KjirstinBreure’s responsibilities include production, research and development, intellectual property, and external communications. Her leadership style has emphasized consistency, quality control, and long-term credibility, a particularly important element in advanced materials markets where trust and reproducibility matter as much as performance.
Manufacturing Scale and Market Readiness
Alongside application development, HydroGraph has been expanding its manufacturing capacity. Production has moved from pilot quantities to approximately one metric ton per month, with further increases expected as additional reactors and a new Texas facility come online through 2026. This scaling effort is critical, as many graphene producers struggle to deliver consistent material at volumes suitable for industrial customers.
HydroGraph’s production process, often described as an explosion or detonation synthesis method, produces ultra-pure, repeatable graphene batches with relatively low energy input. This consistency has helped position the company among a small group of producers capable of meeting verified quality standards.
The Tier 1 relationship with the GEIC also strengthens HydroGraph’s ability to collaborate with external partners, including the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. By anchoring application development in Manchester while expanding commercial activity in North America, the company is creating a transatlantic innovation pathway that aligns research capability with manufacturing scale.
For Breure, the broader objective is not simply technical advancement but responsible commercialization. She has often emphasized that advanced materials must be developed with environmental considerations in mind, balancing performance gains with sustainability and long-term impact.
The expanded HydroGraph–GEIC collaboration is the result of Breure’s emphasis on disciplined growth, close integration between science and manufacturing, and partnerships that reduce risk. Rather than positioning graphene as a distant future technology, the approach focuses on incremental adoption, embedding the material into real products that deliver measurable benefits.
As graphene continues its transition from laboratory curiosity to industrial input, collaborations like this one suggest how advanced materials companies can scale responsibly. For those watching the commercialization of deep-tech innovation, the HydroGraph and GEIC partnership offers a clear case study in how leadership, research alignment, and manufacturing readiness intersect.
In an industry where timelines are long and credibility is hard-won, the continued progress of Hydrograph under CEO KjirstinBreure’s leadership reflects the importance of building materials revolutions one partnership, application, and production milestone at a time.